16 replies to this topic

[HandyAndy]

Male, 20 years old

So lets see, i started insanely breaking out when i was a junior in high school, then just huge mess my senior year. I was using any over the counter acne product i could at first, then finally went to a family doctor who prescribed Tetracyclin 100mg....

Well that helped at first, but i was still breaking out everyday with inflammatory acne. At the time, i was prone to picking at my acne so i probably caused more harm than good. I would then go on to try other pill types, minocylin and doxycylin and so forth (sorry not good spelling the names but i think you understand lol). I was on minocyclin at one point and actually broke out in a fungus infection on my chest/back but Liprox cream took care of that.

2 years later, my sophomore year of college, i finally went to a dermatologist. She was actually very understanding and talked to me all about what could cause and how it forms and so forth. She was the one that cleared up my back and chest, realizing it was fungal not acne.

So then, for my face and neck, she gave me benzaclin and Retin-A Micro .04%.

Now for pictures.

This is me in my senior year of highschool. And also how i walked for my diploma. Depressing huh?


This is me after my first year of college. Still bright spots of fresh acne ;/


Now, this is how my face looks. This picture was taken i think 1 week ago, about 2-1/2 months into my treatment of Benzaclin and Retin A Micro .04%. So i would say its a HUGE difference over my previous pictures. No real active acne cysts or inflammatory spots, just a wierd kinda dull complexion from the medication i guess.



So now my acne has settled itself out it seems and appears to be under control for the most part. I do still break out occasionally with like 1 or 2 small pimples, but honestly, they will 'peel' off when i'm washing my face the next night or morning and leave just an indent on my face, no redness or bleeding lol.

My regimen:

>Mornings<
Wash face with Cetaphil Facial Cleanser
Put on Benzaclin
Wait 30 mins, put on Aveeno Positively Radiant SPF 30 Moisturizor

>Nightly<
Wash face with Cetaphil Facial Cleanser
Put on Retin A Micro .04%
OPTIONAL: Wait 1 hour, put on Aveeno Moisturizor again (sometimes i only do it if my face feels really dry that night after the Retin A)


So far this has worked out for me. The Retin A Micro was EXTREMELY drying for my first 2 months. My face would literally be burning after using it and moisturizing it hurt like hell lol. Even with moisturizor, my face would continually peel and white flakes of dry skin were plastered along my jaw line mostly.

I'll update with pics as i go along, and try to get a nice flash on my face so you guys can see a my face in better light.

Questions or comments i'll answer as best i can.

[HandyAndy]

so far so good..... only a couple days since last update and looking good. Got a small pimple sitting under my lower lip but honestly i cant even notice it in a picture, i might just be looking so hard at it i keep thinking its huge lol. My forehead is starting to clear up, an odd pimple or two every other day so far but they dissapear the next night

[lovetodance]

Hi HandyAndy,

I just wanted to say that at night I hope that you're using a different moisturizer than the SPF moisturizer that you're using during the day because you don't need SPF at night and sunscreens have chemicals, so you wouldn't want to sleep with it and also wear it all day.

Male, 20 years old

So lets see, i started insanely breaking out when i was a junior in high school, then just huge mess my senior year. I was using any over the counter acne product i could at first, then finally went to a family doctor who prescribed Tetracyclin 100mg....

Well that helped at first, but i was still breaking out everyday with inflammatory acne. At the time, i was prone to picking at my acne so i probably caused more harm than good. I would then go on to try other pill types, minocylin and doxycylin and so forth (sorry not good spelling the names but i think you understand lol). I was on minocyclin at one point and actually broke out in a fungus infection on my chest/back but Liprox cream took care of that.

2 years later, my sophomore year of college, i finally went to a dermatologist. She was actually very understanding and talked to me all about what could cause and how it forms and so forth. She was the one that cleared up my back and chest, realizing it was fungal not acne.

So then, for my face and neck, she gave me benzaclin and Retin-A Micro .04%.

Now for pictures.

This is me in my senior year of highschool. And also how i walked for my diploma. Depressing huh?


This is me after my first year of college. Still bright spots of fresh acne ;/


Now, this is how my face looks. This picture was taken i think 1 week ago, about 2-1/2 months into my treatment of Benzaclin and Retin A Micro .04%. So i would say its a HUGE difference over my previous pictures. No real active acne cysts or inflammatory spots, just a wierd kinda dull complexion from the medication i guess.



So now my acne has settled itself out it seems and appears to be under control for the most part. I do still break out occasionally with like 1 or 2 small pimples, but honestly, they will 'peel' off when i'm washing my face the next night or morning and leave just an indent on my face, no redness or bleeding lol.

My regimen:

>Mornings<
Wash face with Cetaphil Facial Cleanser
Put on Benzaclin
Wait 30 mins, put on Aveeno Positively Radiant SPF 30 Moisturizor

>Nightly<
Wash face with Cetaphil Facial Cleanser
Put on Retin A Micro .04%
OPTIONAL: Wait 1 hour, put on Aveeno Moisturizor again (sometimes i only do it if my face feels really dry that night after the Retin A)


So far this has worked out for me. The Retin A Micro was EXTREMELY drying for my first 2 months. My face would literally be burning after using it and moisturizing it hurt like hell lol. Even with moisturizor, my face would continually peel and white flakes of dry skin were plastered along my jaw line mostly.

I'll update with pics as i go along, and try to get a nice flash on my face so you guys can see a my face in better light.

Questions or comments i'll answer as best i can.

[HandyAndy]

That's actually a question i had asked my dermatologist at the time i was perscribed the Retin-A and she actually thought it was OK to use the same Aveeno Moisturizor SPF during the day and at night. So that's what i have been doing.

Also, the moisturizor isn't used every night. Only if i have a particularly dry skin condition going on. Honestly, in the last week i haven't used it all during the night.

[HandyAndy]

So far so good. I've broken out maybe once or twice on the left side of my forehead, but they are clearing up nicely a day later. I'm thinking its because i end up sleeping on the my left side in the middle of the night without realizing it.

And yeah, most of my pics have a woman or two inside them. I've been confident enough that even with acne issues, my personality overcame such obstacles. I'm thinking that is key for any person suffering from acne, simply be confident and keep your personality. Most become depressed and alot of friends still suffering are, but once you get them talking they forget all about their problems.

New pics coming sometime.

[HandyAndy]

Well i promised pictures and so here they are..... progress is really look good to me. 3 months in

[HandyAndy]

Almost 4 months into this, and everything is looking GREAT!

My pics from afore are basically how i am right now. I got a pimple or two over the last two weeks but nothing major. And its great, it seems like the Benzaclin in the day will kinda 'plug' up the pores but then the Retin-A at night will suddenly make them dissapear completely. A one-two punch almost.

My skin still is a little dry, but no nearly as much when i started this. Really glad its going through for me and i hope anyone else taking it feels the same way.

[Beezilla]

Not much to add except your skin looks great!

[yankeefanj24]

what do you do if you sweat or need to take a shower in the afternoon before the night time?

[acnefree24]

why did you photoshop the latest pics you put up?

[cubsfreak9988]

im on pretty much the same regimen that youre on now. i was prescribed duac and retin-a micro .04. duac is pretty much the same thing as benzaclin, same active ingredients. im almost 2 months in now. i think im starting to see some results. the thing is that ill break out but then clear up and stay clear for a week and then breakout again. now the breakouts are starting to become less frequent and not as bad. the difference between me and you though is that my skin has been more oily than dry. i was peelig for about the two weeks, but after that my skin has been extremely oily. it could be becuase of the hot and humid weather, but i dont ever remember my skin being this oily. do you have any advice on this, do you think i should move up my concentration to .1?

[HandyAndy]

why did you photoshop the latest pics you put up?

I'm not sure what you are talking about. The first couple pics were from a friend's camera and the second set were from a webcam on a laptop. That is the reason for the discrepancy as I think you see it. I can assure you tho that my second set of pics looks like the 3rd pic from the first set. Not sure why you would think that lol?

@Yankeefan
-> I've found that is easier to just center my sweaty activities for before I even take my initial shower and apply the benzaclin. Like for instance, i'll now only workout in the morning before my initial shower because the sweat is a problem for sure when you have the medicine on. Throughout the day, if i sweat or become absolutely rained on I just reapply moisturizor as needed and not worry about reapplying the benzaclin. The benzaclin is absorbed pretty darn quickly and i honestly don't think it would make it less effective because of it. Anybody wanting to shed light on this is welcome to.

@cubsfan
-> Like i said, i'm only posting my own symptoms. Dryness is still a partial concern for me as it seems as soon as the benzclin is put on my face likes to tighten up and dry significantly out. The moisturizor is really the only thing keeping my face from turning into a desert in my opinion. I honestly couldn't tell you whether you should move up in concentration or not. It does not cost a dime to give a quick phonecall to your dermatologists' office and simply inquire as to whether you can ask the derm a quick question if she/he isn't busy at the moment. Or ask them to give you quick call. It'll help assure your mind and they are much more experienced in the products than I am.

[HandyAndy]

5 months in and the face continues to look better.

Some of you have mentioned the fact that my face looks pretty even toned. yes, it does when the moisturizer is applied. However, my cheeks are still slightly 'burnt' looking before the moisturizer is put on but slowly this has become less and less. It is definitely a good feeling when you have even toned facial texture because it almost blends in with some of the small white pimples i've gotten. And those pimples stay for a day and suddenly vanish!

[nicole4]

,

Edited by nicole4, 05 September 2010 - 04:36 PM.

[Wetyuringo]

5 months in and the face continues to look better.

Some of you have mentioned the fact that my face looks pretty even toned. yes, it does when the moisturizer is applied. However, my cheeks are still slightly 'burnt' looking before the moisturizer is put on but slowly this has become less and less. It is definitely a good feeling when you have even toned facial texture because it almost blends in with some of the small white pimples i've gotten. And those pimples stay for a day and suddenly vanish!

Hey I'm on the same regimen as you, retin-a micro and benzaclin. It's cleared me up pretty well just like you, but I have to ask you, is your face red, or was it? My face has an annoying red tone (about 3 months in) that doesn't seem to be fading.

[happydaze22]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

Your skin looks amazing! I'm so glad this worked for you.

[connect16]

So how often are you using the Retin-A? Every night? Did you use it differently when you first started?